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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29835279">Persona 5: Take Your Heart Royal Edition</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 5, Persona Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Slow Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:13:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>18,585</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29835279</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After being incriminated on false charges by a politician, Rei Toudou had no choice but to leave her hometown and moved to Tokyo to live with one of her distant relative, Naoya Toudou. Unbeknownst to her, she'll soon follow in the same fate and path that befell Naoya Toudou and his classmates many years ago.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akira Kurusu/Original Female Character, Goro Akechi/Original Female Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Prologue</strong>
</p>
<p>Under the night sky filled with dozens of bright stars, a single helicopter flew above and across the huge and dark ocean toward the brightly lit and myriad colours of one of the large cities of Japan. The helicopter flew past several tall and large buildings and skyscrapers and toward a certain building in the middle of it, which turns out to be a tall and large casino building with a brightly lit red, light blue and yellow figure of a woman dressed like a cowgirl standing in front of the building and holding up a pair of light blue and yellow-coloured scale thing with the large and single word "WIN" highlighted down in neon light, like the cowgirl.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, inside one of the large slot machines room filled with guests within the casino, several alarms on the walls were blaring quite loudly in the room, which caused several security guards wearing black suits and black glasses on them to swiftly make their way past the guests to search for the troublesome cause of the commotion while the guests look swiftly around the room with anxious, confused and worried looks on their faces (while not noticing a single, feminine-looking shadow figure jumping swiftly and silently over one chandelier after another above them).</p>
<p>"Huh…?" said a woman with an anxious and worry look on her face.</p>
<p>"There's something or someone here!" said a man as he look around the room while 3 more black suits and glasses security guards men came walking into the room and look around in the room.</p>
<p>As the guards continue to look around the room for the cause of the commotion, the feminine-looking shadow figure jumped from the chandelier and landed on another one before the figure slowly stood up and turned around to glance down at the guests and guards standing below with a smirk on the figure's face.</p>
<p>"H-Hey, look! Up there!" said another man as he spotted, raised and pointed his finger at the shadow figure standing on the chandelier before the rest of the guests look up at the figure as well and they saw that the figure is a young fair-skinned, silver-eyed girl with long wavy crimson hair tied up with a silver ribbon into a ponytail behind her head, a bird-shaped black and white masquerade mask on her face while the girl wore a dark green, black and white-coloured sleeveless dress combined with a cape on the lower back half of her body, grey fingerless elbow-length gloves on her arms, thigh-high dark green and black stockings and knee-length grey boots on her legs while she carry a light grey suitcase under her left arm.</p>
<p>"She's here. Moving in immediately for capture." One of the guards spoke into the earpiece in his ear before he and his 2 fellow guards began to make their way past the guests toward the masked girl.</p>
<p>The masked girl deepen her smirk as she watched the 3 guards started to make their way toward her before she turned around to jumped off the chandelier and into the darker recesses of the casino. As she continue to moved on, she leave the briefcase that she carried under her arm inside an opened air vent for her teammates to take before she jumped and landed on a glass walkway.</p>
<p>"<em>Good. Now get running!</em>" said a boyish voice in her head.</p>
<p>"<em>This is our only chance!</em>" said a second boy's voice.</p>
<p>"<em>Stay calm! You can get away now!</em>" said a girl's voice.</p>
<p>"<em>We'll retrieve the briefcase on our end.</em>" said another girl's voice to the masked girl before she heard a garbled man's voice talking to another.</p>
<p>"<em>Hm…? What was that…?</em>" said the second girl's voice in confusion.</p>
<p>"<em>Don't worry about us. Just concentrate on getting away!</em>" the boyish voice told the masked girl, which she nodded before she began jumping from one glass walkway after another and onto another chandelier. "<em>But I have to say, showing yourself above that crowd earlier so boldly was an excellent move! Nice work as always, Jester.</em>" the boyish voice complimented the masked girl called Jester.</p>
<p>"<em>Yeah, you did quite good."</em> said a third guy's voice approvingly to Jester.</p>
<p>"<em>I bet Skull wouldn't pull such a stunt off that smoothly like her.</em>" said the third voice of another girl.</p>
<p>"<em>This happens because you have no sense for the aesthetics.</em>" said the exasperated voice of a slightly deep and refined boy to the boy the other girl just teased about.</p>
<p>"<em>You can say that again.</em>" said the second voice of another boy in agreement to the voice of the deep and refined boy.</p>
<p>"<em>Nobody asked you, Fox! And you too, Spade!</em>" snapped the casual and boisterous voice of another boy called Skull to the 2 boys called Fox and Spade.</p>
<p>"Enough and save the meaningless bickering and teasing among yourselves for later, everyone." said Jester to her teammates as she rolled her eyes and shake her head a little before she came to a stop on the chandelier when she saw 3 guards coming out of an exit door which she was supposed to head to.</p>
<p>"<em>Shoot! Run and get out in another direction, Jester!</em>" said the first girl's voice anxiously to Jester (before Jester turned to her left and began jumping across several glass walkways).</p>
<p>"<em>Ok, the enemy's focus is on her. Looks like the rest of us can slip away safely.</em>" said the boyish voice.</p>
<p>"<em>Everyone remember where we are meeting up?</em>" said a fourth girl's voice to the others.</p>
<p>"<em>No worries, I can guide you all.</em>" said the first girl's voice reassuringly to the fourth girl.</p>
<p>After Jester's teammates done in talking to each other and fell into silence, Jester jumped from the last glass walkway and landed on an archway before she jumped up from the archway and over the railing and landed on the second floor. As Jester turned around and was about to run, she saw 2 guards running and came to a stop at the top of the steps a few feet away in front of her before their bodies started shaking then changing into some kind of black-skinned, cold yellow-eyed monsters with steel masks on their faces. Jester then heard the sound of someone landed on the second floor with a loud thud sound behind her and when she turned around for a look, she saw a third black-skinned, cold yellow-eyed monster standing in front of her.</p>
<p>"<em>Take it down, Jester!</em>" said the first girl's voice to Jester.</p>
<p>"Of course I will!" replied Jester with a smirk on her face before she jumped up, landed on the shoulders of the masked guard before she grabbed hold of his mask and forcefully ripped his mask away from his face (which reveal a black and blank face with bright red-coloured eyes on it). After Jester ripped off the mask of the guard and jumped away from him, the guard's entire body began to turned completely black with dozens of red veins on it before the guard began to shake quite wildly then explode outward in a big gush of blackish-red liquid before the liquid abruptly dissipated away to reveal a tall, red-eyed, black, blue and yellow beast-like bull creature standing on it's legs, wearing a white cravat at it's neck and a large tail behind it.</p>
<p>"<em>Now comparing power levels… No threat. Get'em, Jester!</em>" said the first girl's voice to Jester (who nodded before she pull her rapier weapon out from her back and proceed to swung and slash her rapier relentlessly at the bull creature (which make it yell out in pain from her relentless rapier attack) until she defeated the creature and it burst apart into a dozen black ashes and scatter in different direction in the air).</p>
<p>"<em>Ok, now pull out before their backup gets here.</em>" said the first girl's voice to Jester.</p>
<p>"<em>Good. You defeated it with ease!</em>" said the boyish voice proudly to Jester.</p>
<p>"<em>More of them here already!? Be careful!</em>" warned the first girl's voice to Jester before 3 more guards suddenly appear in front of Jester (which surprises her a little at their sudden appearances). The middle guard then charge toward Jester with his electric rod raised high above him in preparation to strike down on her. Jester smirked at the guard before she backflip away from the guard swinging his rod down on her before she jumped up and landed on another archway, jumped from the archway and over another railing and landed on the third floor.</p>
<p>"<em>Jester, behind you! Go through that opened door now!</em>" the first girl's voice told and order at Jester (who immediately turned around and run toward and through the opened door and run up the stairs until she came into an inner room within the casino).</p>
<p>"<em>You should be able to get out that way! Hurry, Jester!</em>" said the first girl's voice.</p>
<p>"<em>H-Hey, can she even hear us!?</em>"asked Skull worriedly to the first girl's voice.</p>
<p>"<em>Don't worry, I'm picking up on everyone's voices! Huh? I just picked up on another weird reading coming your way, just go, Jester!</em>" replied the first girl's voice Skull before she told Jester about a weird reading coimng her way and told her to hurry and go (which make Jester raised an eyebrow before she did as she’s told and run forward in the room before she turned to her left, opened and run through the door and down the stairs then she turned to her right, run down a short hallway toward another door, opened it and went into another room (which had 3 large rectangular-shaped windows in the room and several wooden crates lying on the floor against the walls).</p>
<p>After Jester run into the room, she noticed with a scowl look on her face that there's one of the guard standing with his back to her between the other opened door and the other staircase leading up to the exit before she swiftly hide and moved herself behind the crates closer toward the opened door while avoiding being seen by the guard. After Jester hide herself behind the crate near the door, she overheard the guard speak to his fellow guards about her before the guard turned around and run past the wooden crate that she's currently hiding behind before she came out of her hiding place and quickly run through the door and up the stairs into another room only to stop and swiftly hide behind another crate when she saw another guard standing with his back to her.</p>
<p>“<em>Ugh! How many of them are there!?</em>” groaned the first girl’s voice in exasperation.</p>
<p>“A lot, from the looks of it.” said Jester in a deadpan tone of voice to the first girl.</p>
<p>“<em>That’s not good.</em>” said Spade worriedly to Jester.</p>
<p>“<em>Everything okay? The security level might rise if you take too much time, Jester.</em>” said the second boy’s voice worriedly to Jester.</p>
<p>“<em>I know, I know! I’m looking for another route for Jester. Just hang on.</em>” said the first girl’s voice in exasperation to the second boy’s voice. “<em>Oh, perfect timing. Jester, look up!</em>” added the first girl’s voice excitedly to Jester.</p>
<p>“Look up?” said Jester as she look up and saw a metal ring on the metal walkway above her.</p>
<p>“<em>Can you use that thing and just fly over there?</em>” suggested the first girl’s voice to Jester.</p>
<p>“Of course I will and thanks for the suggestion.” said Jester thankfully to the first girl’s voice before she swiftly stood up from her hiding place, used and threw the device attached on her left wrist to connect with the metal ring above her before she flew upward and around the metal walkway while detaching her device from the metal ring before she landed safely and securely on the walkway.</p>
<p>“<em>All right, go straight from there and into the room to your right!</em>” said the first girl’s voice anxiously to Jester before Jester quickly turned and run into the room only to stopped in her tracks due to the first girl telling her to stop.</p>
<p>“<em>What is it?</em>” asked Jester in confusion to the first girl’s voice.</p>
<p>“<em>It’s an enemy! Right near you!</em>” replied the first girl’s voice worriedly to Jester before 7 masked black-suited security guards suddenly showed up and surround Jester.</p>
<p>“<em>Oh, godammit!</em>” thought Jester as she look at the 7 security guards around her with a scowling look on her face.</p>
<p>“<em>Even you can’t take on this many-Huh!? Jester! That weird reading from earlier is closing in on you now!</em>” said the first girl’s voice to Jester.</p>
<p>As Jester look at the 7 security guards around her, she then noticed a fair-skinned, long red-haired (that’s’ as red as her own hair and tied up into a ponytail with a black ribbon), red-eyed mysterious girl wearing a strapless black leotard with a chain belt with 2 silver roses motifs and a rapier tied around her waist, a long ruffled sleeve black bolero jacket with gold buttons and 3 coat-tails down her back, red gloves on her hands, thigh high black stockings and stiletto ballet-like heels on her feet and a black mask with silver highlights on her face walking slowly toward her and the 7 security guards.</p>
<p>“I’ll end this right now.” said the mysterious masked girl as she unsheathed and pointed her rapier at Jester and the 7 security guards.</p>
<p>“<em>Jester, it’s her! She’s the weird reading I’ve been getting!</em>” said the first girl’s voice to Jester.</p>
<p>“<em>So she’s the one, huh?</em>” thought Jester as she watched the mysterious masked girl threw the rapier toward and past Jester and pierced the security guard standing behind Jester, which make the security guard fell to his knees and make the other 6 security guards turned and charge toward the mysterious masked girl, who gracefully dodged out of their attacks before she take out, pointed and open fire her shotgun at another security guard, killing and dispersing the security guard into black mist.</p>
<p>“As graceful as ever, huh?” said Jester in a compliment tone of voice to the mysterious masked girl (who briefly smiled at Jester’s compliment to her).</p>
<p>“My weak self relied on you so much……… That ends today.” said the mysterious masked girl as she walked toward and past Jester to take back her rapier and get rid of the security guard at the same time. “Let’s do this, senpai!” said the mysterious masked girl confidently to Jester as they turned to faced the remaining security guards (who start shaking, burst apart and turned into 2 standing, diaper-wearing leopards with capes behind their backs and holding 2 swords in their hands and a huge flying purplish-pink bird).</p>
<p>“<em>The enemy readings have decreased</em>?” said the first girl’s voice in disbelief to the others.</p>
<p>“<em>That’s-</em>” said the boyish voice in disbelief as well.</p>
<p>“It’s been a while since we last fought side by side. But this time, it’s my turn to come to your aid, Senpai. Now let’s win this!” said the mysterious masked girl confidently to Jester.</p>
<p>“Of course, Kouhai.” said Jester before she proceed to take her mask off her face, which resulted in the appearance of a shadowy figure behind her before the figure unleash a geyser of water under the huge flying purplish-pink bird, drenching and making it fall to the floor.</p>
<p>After Jester and the shadowy figure behind her took down the huge flying purplish-pink bird, the mysterious masked girl follow Jester’s example, taking off her own mask and reveal the appearance of another, different-looking shadowy figure behind her before the second figure unleash a series of sword slashes at the 2 standing, diaper-wearing leopards, making them fall to their knees on the floor too before both Jester and the mysterious masked girl jump and perform a kind of wild and special attack to defeat and get rid of their enemies.</p>
<p>“I think……… that’s the last of them?” said the mysterious masked girl as she turned to glance at Jester.</p>
<p>“For now. Thanks for aiding me, Kouhai.” said Jester gratefully to the mysterious masked girl.</p>
<p>“You’re welcome, Senpai.” said the mysterious masked girl.</p>
<p>“<em>I genuinely have no idea what just happened, but I take it you’re both okay? Wait-bad news! Enemy’s backup heading your way! You need to book it, right now!</em>” said the first girl’s voice worriedly to both Jester and the mysterious masked girl.</p>
<p>“Please go. I’m going to make it harder for them to track you down……… You still have something you need to do as a Phantom thief, right?” said the mysterious masked girl.</p>
<p>“Yes, I do. Will you be alright in leading them away?” asked Jester concernly to the mysterious masked girl.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine and I won’t stop you. Since I’m not a member of the Phantom Thieves, I’m in no position to interfere.” said the mysterious masked girl reassuringly to Jester before she turned away from her and jump up and landed on the metal air-vent above. “However……… Please don’t forget the promise we make, alright, Senpai?” added the mysterious masked girl as she glance down at Jester.</p>
<p>“I won’t, Kouhai.” said Jester as she nodded at the mysterious masked girl and watched as she jump away and out of her sight.</p>
<p>“<em>Jester, you need to get out of there! Go go go! Go up the stairs in front of you! Just a little bit more, so hang in there!</em>” said the first girl’s voice more worriedly to Jester (who nodded and quickly run toward the stairs in front of her).</p>
<p>Jester run up the stairs into another room before she reached and came into an inner corridor within the casino. She then run forward down the corridor before she came to a stop near a large rectangular-shaped window to look inside and saw a room filled with some peoples typing away at the computers on the tables while others watched the dozens of TV monitors on the walls in front of them to search for any sights of herself or her teammates before she swiftly and discreetly run past the room down the corridor, run up several staircases and into another corridor leading toward a single door.</p>
<p>Jester then run down the corridor toward the door, opened and run through the door and she came to a stop at a railing.</p>
<p>"<em>Something wrong? The exit should be up ahead.</em>" said the first girl's voice to Jester.</p>
<p>"Through there, huh?" asked Jester as she glance forward and saw a large myriad-coloured window not far in front of her.</p>
<p>"<em>Nhh…! That's just how it is. After the commotion, the bottom floor's</em>-" sighed the first girl's voice before her words got cut off by the third girl's voice.</p>
<p>"<em>-completely closed off! H-hey, can you make it!?</em>" asked the third girl's voice worriedly to Jester (who smirk and had an excited look on her face).</p>
<p>"Over there!" "Don't move!" "There's nowhere to run!" said the voices of the guards from behind Jester (who turned around and saw 3 guards slowly approaching her with their guns raised and aimed at her in their hands).</p>
<p>Jester smirked at the 3 guards before she turned and jumped onto the railing (which surprises the 3 guards before they quickly run down the corridor and out the door) and took off running down the railing toward the window until she reached and came to a crouching stop near the window and glance at the 3 guards.</p>
<p>"Later, boys." said Jester smugly to the 3 guards before she jumped from the railing toward the window with her arms over her face and head and threw herself through the window.</p>
<p>"<em>Hmph. What a showoff!</em>" scoffed the first girl's voice to Jester.</p>
<p>"<em>You're so reckless. You know that, Jester?</em>" said the second girl's voice before she let out a sigh at Jester.</p>
<p>"<em>Since when is she never reckless?</em>" said Spade in a slightly exasperated tone of voice to the second girl's voice.</p>
<p>"<em>You got a point, Spade.</em>" sighed the second girl's voice.</p>
<p>Jester smirk at her teammates words to her before she fell and landed safely on her feet on the ground in a crouching manner. She then dusted herself a little before she stood up from the ground but soon after she do so, dozens of spotlights suddenly light up in front of her, which make her let out a small gasp of surprise as she raised her right arm to shield her eyes from the sudden appearance of the lights shining on her. Once her eyes adjusted to the lights and she lowered her arm to take a look, she immediately scowled at the scene of a large group of armed police forces in front of her. "<em>Oh, you've got to be kidding me!</em>" thought Jester to herself in her mind.</p>
<p>"<em>Enemies here!? These readings… it can't be!</em>" said the first girl's voice worriedly.</p>
<p>"<em>What's wrong!?</em>" said the second boy's voice.</p>
<p>"<em>What happened!?</em>" said Skull.</p>
<p>"<em>An ambush!?</em>" said the fourth girl's voice worriedly.</p>
<p>"<em>Jester, can you handle this!?</em>" asked the boyish voice.</p>
<p>"<em>Jester!?</em>" said both Spade and Fox worriedly to Jester.</p>
<p>"<em>Jester!</em>" said the third girl's voice worriedly to Jester as well.</p>
<p>"Capture her!" yelled the captain of the police forces through the loud speaker he carry in his right hand to his fellow policemen, which spur some of them into action and they immediately run toward Jester.</p>
<p>Jester scowled even more at them before she turned to her right and began to run toward the nearby fire escape ladder away from some of the police officers chasing after her (while the lights shining on her followed her to keep her in sight). Once Jester reached the ladder, she quickly jumped, grabbed and began climbing up the ladder away from the officers chasing after her.</p>
<p>Jester smirked and chuckle at the officers raising and swinging their rods below her in anger as she kept on climbing up the ladder but when she look up, she gasped and widened her eyes in shock when she saw several officers standing and/or kneeling on the metallic catwalk above her. One of the officer then raised and slammed the butt of his rifle down on her face, which make her release her grip on the ladder before she fell down and landed into the midst of the police officers, who immediately grabbed and pinned her to the ground, not letting her have the slightest chance of escape.</p>
<p>Soon after the police officers grabbed and pinned Jester to the ground, they began to part to allow a suited man walked toward her. "Huh. Didn't expect to find and see some girl." said the suited man coldly to Jester as he kneel down to grabbed a fistful of her hair to pull her face up for a closer look. "You have one of your teammates to thank for this. You…were sold out." the suited man added smugly to Jester before he let go of her, stood up and turned to walked away while one of the police officers grabbed her arms to placed handcuffs on her wrists.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Inside an interrogation room……… </strong>
</p>
<p>Soon after Jester was arrested by the police and immediately taken to the police station (by then her previous outfit had change into her traditional school uniform, which is a short-sleeve white dress shirt with a long sleeve black blazer (that had her school logo on it) over her shirt, black and red stripe skirt with white shoes and black socks on her legs), she was immediately and quite roughly taken and dragged out of the police car by 2 suited men (one of which is the one who told her that she’d been sold out by one of her teammates) and into the police station before they dragged and bring her into an elevator and down toward one of the interrogation rooms under the police station.</p>
<p>Once the 2 suited men bring her into the room (which is quite dimly lit yet bright enough to show parts of the room with steel plated walls that prevents any attempts of escape and had only a table and 2 chairs on opposite side of the table in the room) and locked the door, they then forced her to sat down on the chair before they proceed to take out some syringes to inject some kind of drugs into her body then they beat her up (which make her almost incoherent as she gasped in deep pain before she passed out from their harsh beating and the drugs being injected into her body).</p>
<p>“Guess us beating her up and injecting the drugs into her was too much for her………” muttered the first suited man to himself as he glance coldly at the passed-out pale and injured girl sitting on the chair in front of him before he turned to glance at the second suited man standing to his left behind him. “Wake her up.” the first suited man told the second suited man (who nodded before he splashed her awake with a bucket of water that he lifted up from the floor).</p>
<p>After the second suited man threw water on Jester to wake her up, Jester groan and slowly opened her eyes to take a look at the room she’s in then look at the 2 suited men standing in front of her.</p>
<p>“No dozing off, girl.” the suited man warned Jester (who began to struggle at the handcuffs on her wrists).</p>
<p>“You still don’t get it, do you? Give it up!” snapped the suited man as he glared at Jester (who stop struggling and glance up at him) before he raised and swung his right hand to backhand her hard on the right side of her face, which make her let out another gasp of pain as she fall off the chair and landed hard on the floor.</p>
<p>“Come on, cooperate. Or what, you want another shot?” the suited man added coldly and smugly to Jester as he got down on one knee near her to grabbed a fistful of her hair to pull her up from the floor (which make her glared weakly at him before she glance at the camera hanging on the upper left corner of the wall near the door). “Huh? What about the camera over there? Don’t tell me that you’re thinking that the camera can be used as video evidence?” the suited man asked Jester.</p>
<p>“Of course not………” replied Jester.</p>
<p>“So you’re not that dumb. Which is good, ‘cause we get to take as much time as we NEED ON YOU!” said the suited man to Jester before he slammed her head back down to the floor, let go of her hair and stood up before he kicked her hard on her stomach (which make her gasped and cough quite loudly as more pain wracked her head and stomach).</p>
<p>The suited man then turned around and walked away from her and he took a clipboard with a single paper on it from the second suited man. “Obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons……… Manslaughter too, yeah? Talk about the works.” the suited man read out the crimes written on the clipboard to Jester as he turned back to glance at her. “To think that all those crimes written here were led and executed by a no-good wench like you……… And you seemed to be enjoying every second of it……… Huh?” the suited man asked her.</p>
<p>“<em>What’s does……… he mean by……… I was……… enjoying it………? Everything’s hazy……… I can’t remember………</em>” thought Jester in hazy confusion in her mind.</p>
<p>“………You should know your place.” said the suited man with a shake of his head to Jester before he glance and gestured his head at the second suited man to her (who uncrossed his arms to approach and kneel down behind her to uncuffed her wrists before he roughly grabbed her shoulder to bring her up into a sitting position).</p>
<p>After the second suited man forced Jester into a sitting position, she then massaged her bruised wrists to bring circulation back into them before she saw the first suited man approach and got down on one knee in front of her to shoved another clipboard with another paper on it at her. “Sign here, girl. It’s a confession under your name.” the suited man explained to her.</p>
<p>“……… No way I’m signing this after what you did to me!” Jester snapped at the suited man before she slapped the clipboard away with her left hand.</p>
<p>“I see……… You don’t want to sign it, huh?” said the suited man coldly to Jester before he raised and swung his hand to backhand her face for the second time (which make her let out another gasp of pain). “I need your hand to sign this and I and my fellow detectives will make sure that you sign it, one painful way or another.” the suited man added to Jester before he shoved the clipboard to her again (which make her glared at him before she snatch the clipboard from his hand).</p>
<p>“And one more thing, girl. Don’t you expect that you can walk out of here in one piece. For we’re going to make you understand……… that one must take full responsibility for their actions………” the suited man warned Jester as he take out a light grey fountain pen from his pants pocket and hold the pen out to her (which she glance for a few seconds before she take the pen from him as well) before he stood up, crossed his arms and watched her.</p>
<p>Jester glance at the clipboard in her hand before she wrote and sign her full name, <em>Rei Toudou</em>, on it then she handed the clipboard and the pen back to the suited man standing in front of her.</p>
<p>XXXX</p>
<p>
  <strong>A few minutes later……… </strong>
</p>
<p>A tall and fair-skinned, red-eyed woman with long grey hair parted down on the left side of her face, wearing a long sleeve black turtleneck shirt with a long sleeve black blazer suit over it, long black pants, black socks and heels on her legs is currently walking by herself down the hallway past the other closed doors of the empty interrogation rooms on either side of her toward the final interrogation room where the criminal leader of the notorious group that terrorizes Japan for the past few months is finally caught and being confined in, which is guarded by a policeman and a stern-looking suited detective standing outside before the detective heard and saw her approaching and he stepped in front of her while holding out his right hand to stopped her.</p>
<p>“Excuse me, but this area’s off-” the detective began telling her.</p>
<p>“I’m Sae Niijima from the Public Prosecutors Office.” said the woman named Sae Niijima swiftly to the detective, cutting off the rest of his words.</p>
<p>“The Prosecutors Office? What business do you have here?” asked the detective as he raised an eyebrow at her.</p>
<p>“Just let me through; it’s urgent.” replied Sae curtly to the detective as she raised her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. “There’s something I need to confirm with the suspect.”</p>
<p>“Niijima-san, I believe this case is no longer in your jurisdiction. Besides………” the detective said and reminded her with a cold indifference look on his face before his words got cut off by another person.</p>
<p>“Are you Prosecutor Sae Niijima?” said the voice of another man suddenly from behind Sae, which make her turned around and she saw another stern-looking suited man walking toward and stopped near her with his arms crossed over his chest. “There’s a call from your director. Hurry and get it over with. To be frank, you’re being an inconvenience.” the second suited man added to her (which make her scowled at him) before she take her phone out of her pants pocket when it started ringing and pressed it to her ear.</p>
<p>“<em>I thought I ordered you to stand by.</em>” said the slightly exasperated voice of her director to her from her phone.</p>
<p>“I’m responsible for this case, yet I’m not even being allowed an interrogation!?” snapped Sae coolly yet angrily at her director.</p>
<p>“<em>I’m calling because I knew that you’d bring it up.</em>” said the director.</p>
<p>“I will not be convinced unless I confirm it myself. This is MY case.” Sae stated clearly and firmly to her director (which make him let out a sigh sound at her).</p>
<p>“<em>Good luck to you then. I won’t be expecting much, though………</em>” said the director to Sae before he ended the call and Sae put her phone back into her pants pocket with a slightly relief look on her face since her director sort of allowed her to speak and interrogate the suspect.</p>
<p>“Ah, Prosecutor. I forgot to mention something important. Your time with the female suspect will be cut short. We can’t permit you to talk with her for long.” the second suited man told her (which make her fell silent before she grudgingly nodded at him). “It’s for your own sake. Her methods are unknown. After all, we don’t know if it’s safe to simply meet and speak with her.” the second suited man added in a feigned worry tone of voice to Sae.</p>
<p>“……… I understand.” said Sae as she gave another grudging nod to him before she turned around and walked toward the interrogation room door. The police officer who stood guard outside the door step aside and opened the door for her before she stepped into the room and he closed the door behind her.</p>
<p>Right after Sae stepped into the room and the policeman closed the door behind her, she then glance at Rei with a sad and disbelief look on her face before she sat herself down on the chair near the table opposite Isamu while not taking her eyes off her.</p>
<p>“……… Sae-san………” said Rei weakly to Sae after she heard her came into the room before she raised her head to look up and her tired and hazy-looking eyes widened slightly in recognition at seeing her.</p>
<p>“……… Of all the people that I initially thought to be the leader of such a dangerous group, I didn’t expect that it’d be you, Rei Toudou-san. Your uncle will be quite devastated once he knew about it.” said Sae in a sad and disappointed tone of voice to Rei. “You’ll be answering my questions this time.” Sae added to her.</p>
<p>“……… Yeah, I know.” said Rei weakly to Sae (who nodded before she noticed the 2 empty syringes lying on the floor and she cursed the policemen and detectives for injecting drugs into her).</p>
<p>“Hey, can you hear me? It seems that you’ve been through a lot, Toudou-san.” said Sae as she leaned forward a little in concern to her. “Almost anything can happen here……… and I can’t stop them.” Sae told Rei worriedly and seriously before she leaned back in her chair. “That’s why I need you to answer me honestly. I don’t have much time left either.”</p>
<p>“……… What do you want to know, Sae-san?” asked Rei as she gave a weak nod to Sae before she winced in pain when intense pain suddenly wracked her body.</p>
<p>“Firstly, what was your objective, Toudou-san? Why did you cause such a major incident? I didn’t think it was a joke or a prank from the get-go, but I couldn’t assemble a case for prosecution. It’s because I couldn’t figure out the method behind it, no matter how hard I try.” Sae asked one question after another at Rei.</p>
<p>“Of course you couldn’t know about it………” replied Rei with a small shake of her head.</p>
<p>“You may be right.” said Sae as she furrowed her eyebrow slightly at Rei. “There’s no way I could be convinced of such a……… “world” just be reading the reports. It seems you’re coherent. When and where did you find out about that world? How is it possible to steal another’s heart? Now, tell me your account of everything……… Starting from the very beginning.” Sae asked more questions at Rei (who gave another weak nod to Sae before she closed her eyes and raised and placed her right hand on her forehead to try to remember back).</p>
<p>XXXX</p>
<p>Soon after Rei closed her eyes to try to remember, an almost transparent, sparkling blue butterfly suddenly appear and flew past Rei, who opened her eyes in slight surprise when she saw the butterfly flew past in front of her before she heard a soft and mysterious voice of an unknown girl speaking to her.</p>
<p>“<em>………You are held captive. A prisoner of cruel fate to a future that has been sealed in advance. This is truly an unjust game……… Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is able to reached you, there may yet be a possibility open to you……… If so, I beg of you. Please overcome this game……… and save the world……… The key to victory lies within the temporary forgotten memories of your bonds-the truth that you and your friends grasped. It all began that day……… when the game was started half a year ago after your arrival……… So please, for the sake of the future of the world……… as well as your own, your friends and everyone else……… you must remember………</em>” the mysterious voice of the unknown girl spoke and told Rei about it before she closed her eyes and try her best to remember back.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sudden jostle of the train speeding down the railway toward Shibuya inside the city of Tokyo startled and jerked Rei Toudou (who’s wearing a white tank top with a short sleeve black bolero jacket over it, knee length blue denim jeans and grey sneakers on her legs) up from her slumber before she look at the interior of the train around her, saw that it’s filled with various students and adults standing or sitting in the train with her before she let out a small sigh of relief then lowered her head to glance sadly down at her clasped hands on her teal-coloured duffel bag on her knees as she remember back the time that landed her in her current unlucky situation.</p>
<p>XXXX</p>
<p>
  <em>She was on her way home from tuition at night, only to came to a stop when she saw and heard a frighten woman calling for help while she struggle to get away from a drunken man who’s grabbing and attempting to forced himself on the frighten woman. Not wanting to see the frighten woman get harassed further by the drunken man, Rei approach and pull the man away from the woman, which caused the man to stumbled backward then fell and hit his head on the front of his car before he stood up to glared and sued her for hurting him. Not long after that, she got arrested and taken to the police station by 2 policemen, obtained a criminal record and a probation from the courts, got expelled from her high school, angered and disappointed her parents before they decided to sent her away to one of her distant relatives named Naoya Toudou who’s living in Shibuya. </em>
</p>
<p>XXXX</p>
<p>Rei sighed at the memory in her mind before she heard the voices of 2 female students standing and talking to each other near the train’s door and she turned her head to glance at them both.</p>
<p>“What? Are you for real? A mental shutdown?” asked the first girl in disbelief to the second girl.</p>
<p>“It’s the truth.” replied the second girl with a nod of her head.</p>
<p>“But to a person though? That’s gotta be a joke. You really love all that occult stuff, don’t you?” said the first girl to the second girl before they began chuckling to each other about the mental shutdown thing.</p>
<p>“<em>A mental shutdown, huh?</em>” thought Rei to herself before the train eventually reached and came to a stop inside the Shibuya station and the train doors opened for her and the other passengers. Rei stood up and walked out of the train amongst the other passengers, walked up the stairs out of the station and into the station square and had a surprise look on her face when she saw the large group of people walking or hanging out together in different corners of the station square around her. Rei then make her way down a street away from the square as she take her phone out of her pocket to look down at the message she received from her distant relative whom she’ll be living with for the year.</p>
<p>The next second, a mysterious yet creepy looking red and black icon that looks like an eye with star inside appear in her phone before it suddenly expanded and covered almost the bottom half of her phone screen. “What the hell is this? I don’t recall ever seen or downloaded such a creepy app on my phone before I leave my hometown and came to Shibuya.” thought Rei with a frown look on her face before she tapped the expanded icon several times on her phone screen to get it to disappear to no avail.</p>
<p>As Rei try to get rid of the icon on her phone, the people and the vehicles around her started to slow down then came to a silent stop as time stand still. Rei gasped and raised her head to look at the sudden abnormality of the situation around her with surprise, confusion and unease on her face. “W-What’s going on? First my phone had a creepy icon suddenly appear on it and now everyone and everything around me came to a standstill?” said Rei out loud to herself before something in the middle of the road caught her attention and she saw that it’s some kind of dark blue flames rising and burning in the middle of the road.</p>
<p>“<em>Blue flames? In the middle of the road?</em>” thought Rei with more confusion and unease in her mind as she kept on staring at the dark blue flames, which continue to rise and burned until it take the form of a woman with wings spreading out behind her back. Then, bright orange flames appear and burned within the blue flames and formed into what appear to be slitted-eyes and a wide, wicked smile before it disappear to reveal another face that make Rei gasped and widened her eyes in shock and fear. Her own face with her eyes bright yellow in colour instead of gray and smiling a wide, wicked smile on her face.</p>
<p>The next second, time resumed and the people and vehicles around her continue to walked and drive on down the street and road as if nothing had happened while the dark blue flames bearing the form of the winged woman, the bright orange flames and her different-looking face that she just saw burning in the middle of the road vanished without a trace. “<em>Whatever it is I just saw must have been my imagination.</em>” thought Rei with a tired sigh and shake of her head before she glance down at her phone, saw that the icon had reverted back to it’s miniature size before she tapped the icon with her finger to move it down to the trashcan icon at the bottom of her phone and watched as it shrunk and fall into the trashcan icon and out of her sight.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Soon after Rei moved the creepy looking icon down toward the trashcan icon and deleted it and slipped her phone back into her pocket, she then heard the voice of a man suddenly spoke out from behind her.</p>
<p>“Excuse me, are you Rei Toudou, my distant niece?” the man asked Rei before she turned around to glance and saw that the man (a quite tall and almost well-built, slightly tan-skinned, brown-eyed man with short black hair, an earring pierced on his left ear and wearing a white dress shirt with a black necktie around the collar of his shirt, a black leather wristwatch on his left wrist, long black pants and black shoes on his feet) is the distant relative and her uncle whom her parents told her that she’ll be living with for the year.</p>
<p>“Yes, that’s right. I am. It’s nice to meet you.” replied Rei as she bowed to the man.</p>
<p>“Likewise.” said the man as he smiled politely at Rei before he introduced himself to her. “I’m Naoya Toudou, your distant uncle from your father side of the family and starting today, you’ll be in my care and custody until next year. Come on, let’s go, my car’s waiting over there.” the man named Naoya Toudou added to her before he turned around and walked toward his car, with Rei following closely behind him before they got into the car and Naoya started the engine then drove the car away from the street and down the road toward the residential area where his house is.</p>
<p>A half-hour later, both Naoya and Rei arrived at his house (which is a large yet modest-looking white and dark grey-coloured two-storey house amongst the other two-storey houses, apartment buildings and a supermarket) before Naoya drove the car into his house and turned off the engine then he and Rei got out of the car.</p>
<p>“Well, here we are, Rei. This will be your home until the next year. Come on in so that I can show you to your room.” Naoya told Rei (who nodded silently at him) as he headed for the front door to unlocked and opened it and they went into the house. After they went into the house and Naoya closed the door behind them, Rei take a thorough look at the first floor of Naoya’s house around her and saw that the kitchen room is to her right with a dining table with four chairs on opposite sides of the table in the middle of it, several cupboards leaning against and/or hanging on the wall with a refrigerator and a sink leaning against the wall next to the cupboards while the living room is to her left with a dark brown leather couch leaning against the wall next to the windows, a matching armchair standing to it’s left and with a long wooden cabinet with a slightly large flat-screen TV standing on the cabinet in front of the couch and armchair.</p>
<p>After Rei look around the room, she then followed Naoya down a short hallway and up the stairs toward the second floor and she saw 3 doors on the second floor of the house (which she assumed is the bedrooms and bathroom) before she saw Naoya make his way toward the door on the right side of the second floor and he opened the door and they went into the room. Once they stepped into the room, Rei saw that the room consists of a single-sized bed leaning against the wall under the windows, a wooden table leaning against the right side of the wall next to the bed, a wooden cabinet leaning against the left side of the wall with a closet door next to it and several boxes (which she already knew contains her belongings) lying on the floor in the middle of the room.</p>
<p>“This will be your room, plus your belongings arrived yesterday so you’re free to unpack them.” said Naoya.</p>
<p>“……… Right, thanks.” muttered Rei.</p>
<p>“……… Look, your parents told me the short version of your situation and even though I got the gist of it, I still want to hear and know the full version from you. Will you tell me about it, Rei?” Naoya asked her with a solemn look on his face.</p>
<p>Rei furrowed her brow at Naoya’s question before she sighed and reluctantly told him the full story of her situation.</p>
<p>“……… Hmmm, so you’re telling me that you saw a drunken man attempting to force himself on a frighten woman, who noticed and called out to you for help which you did. However, by doing so, the man got injured and he sued you for injuring him before you got arrested, obtained a criminal record and a probation, expelled from your old school and got sent off by your parents to live with me as part of your probation.” said Naoya to Rei (who nodded solemnly at him after she’s done telling him and his teammates) as he crossed his arms over his chest before he briefly closed his eyes and sighed at her. “That’s terrible. But then, that’s what happens to some people who try to intervene into adult’s business.”</p>
<p>“So what? Are you saying that what I did was wrong? I should just stand by and do nothing?” snapped Rei as she scowled at Naoya.</p>
<p>“No, I’m not saying that you did anything wrong back then, but sometimes when people being helpful to other people, it just doesn’t end well. So, starting now, you need to be on your best behaviour and try not to caused any unnecessary trouble for yourself and me. Since I’m in charge of watching over you as your probation officer.” said Naoya calmly to Rei.</p>
<p>“Right………” said Rei with a small nod of her head at him.</p>
<p>“Oh, and before I forget, I’ll be taking you to Shujin Academy tomorrow.” said Naoya.</p>
<p>“Shujin Academy?” asked Rei with a confused look on her face.</p>
<p>“It’s the name of the high school that you’ll be attending and we’re going to introduced ourselves to the faculty staff there tomorrow. Consider yourself lucky that Shujin Academy accepted you since no other schools want to, Rei.” replied Naoya. “Well then, I’ll be going down now. Once you’re done in unpacking your stuffs, get some sleep.”</p>
<p>After Naoya’s done talking to Rei, he walked past her out of the room and out of her sight. Once Naoya left the room, Rei immediately spend the next few hours in cleaning up her new room, opened the boxes to unpack all of her clothes and other stuffs and put them into the cupboard and on the wooden table. After Rei’s done in putting her items into the cupboard and on the wooden table, she then opened the closet door, take and put the empty boxes into the closet and closed the door before she take a few steps backward to look around her room, smiled approvingly to herself before she change out of her clothes into her pajamas, lie down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling as she think back to that night.</p>
<p>“<em>I’m not the one in the wrong here, there’s no way that I could just stand by and let that drunken man try to have his way with that woman………</em>” thought Rei to herself before she felt her phone vibrate in her pajamas pocket and she pull out her phone to stared at it and saw with a slightly happy look on her face that she received the usual message from her childhood friend.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>GA: <em>Hey, Rei. I just got word of your unlucky situation and I’m really sorry that I wasn’t there to help you about it. If only I wasn’t so busy in trying to solved a case about a shady shrink bribing and blackmailing his patients when it happened. </em></p>
<p>RT: <em>It’s fine, really. So you don’t have to berate yourself much about you being unable to help me with my situation. What’s happened has happened and……… </em></p>
<p>GA: <em>How can you say that, Rei? Knowing that you now have a criminal record for assault because of some random guy who sued and got you incriminated on false charges. Who is the blasted guy that did this to you? Tell me so that I can try to helped you in taking care of him soon. And what about your parents? Didn’t they say or do anything to help you? </em></p>
<p>RT: <em>Unfortunately, I don’t think you can because I can’t seem to remember the name of the guy who sued and incriminated me. As for my parents……… their solution is to sent me away to live with a distant uncle since I’ve angered and disappointed them for doing the “right thing”. </em></p>
<p>GA: <em>What? Un-believable. And you can’t remember name of the guy who sued and incriminated you? That’s too bad……… However, if you do remember who the guy is, remember to tell me about it. </em></p>
<p>RT: <em>Of course. </em></p>
<p>GA: <em>Well then, good night, Rei. </em></p>
<p>RT: <em>Good night to you too, Goro. </em></p>
<p>After Rei’s done in texting and say good night to her childhood friend, she lowered her phone and started to close her eyes. After a few seconds, she felt her phone started to vibrate for the second time, which make her opened her eyes and as she raised and glance at her phone, she saw that the creepy-looking icon which she’d deleted a few hours ago has returned back on her phone screen. “<em>What the? Why is this icon back on my phone? I thought that I’d already deleted it.</em>” thought Rei in confusion and slight fear in her mind as she tapped and dragged the icon down to the trashcan icon with her finger to delete it again before she put her phone down, slowly closed her eyes and fell into slumber.</p>
<p>XXXX</p>
<p>When Rei opened her eyes, she let out a gasp of surprise when she saw that she’s no longer in her room. Instead she’s in some kind of small velvet blue-coloured room with black chains hanging and swaying slowly on the ceiling above her and heard the sound of water dripping into the toilet in the right corner of the room before she slowly sat up from the wooden bed that she’s lying on, look down at herself and saw with more surprise and confusion on her face that she’s wearing a black and white stripe prisoner’s outfit with black chains on her wrists and another chain (a leg iron) on her left leg.</p>
<p>“<em>Where the hell am I? What’s going on? Wasn’t I just………</em>” thought Rei in confusion to herself before she heard the sound of someone chuckling and the sounds of two footsteps approaching and came to a stop to her right. When Rei stood up and turned to see who is it, she saw a cell door locked and partially bound by chains in front of her (which make her realised that she’s in a circular-shaped prison cell room with dozens of empty prison rooms lined the wall outside the prison room she’s confined in) while outside the room, 2 little identical fair-skinned, bright yellow-eyed girls (one with braided hair down her back while the other tied up into twin buns behind her head and with black and dark yellow-coloured eye-patches covering their left and right eyes as they hold an electric shock baton and a clipboard in their hands) wearing matching long sleeve blue shirts, blue hats with the letters “O-Y-O-O” and “X-M-R-N” on the hats, black shorts and knee-length socks and black shoes on their legs stared silently at her.</p>
<p>The next second, the two girls turned to look away from Rei, who let out another gasp of surprise when she noticed an elderly yet bizarre-looking old man with a long nose, pointed ears, bloodshot eyes (that look like they could popped out of his eyes) and wearing a black suit with white gloves on his hands as he sat on a chair behind a desk (which had a stack of papers, a lamp and an opened ink bottle with a blue and white feather quill inside the bottle).</p>
<p>“Greeting, trickster……… Welcome to my Velvet Room.” the elderly man greeted Rei.</p>
<p>“Where am I………? Who are you people?” asked Rei as she try to open the locked cell door to no avail.</p>
<p>“So you’ve come to, Inmate.” said the twin bun-haired girl aggressively at Rei (who stop what she’s doing to glance down at her).</p>
<p>"The “you” in reality is fast asleep. You are only experiencing this in a dream right now.” said the braided-haired girl politely to Rei.</p>
<p>“………Wait, what?” said Rei in a confused tone of voice to the braided-haired girl. But before the braided-haired girl could say anything to her, she got cut off by the sudden snappish voice of the twin bun-haired girl.</p>
<p>“Hey! You’re in the presence of our master! So, stand up straight!” the bun-haired girl snapped at Rei (who scowled at her before she glance back at the elderly man).</p>
<p>“Welcome, I am delighted to make your acquaintance.” the elderly man told Rei. “This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a “contract” can enter. I am Igor, the master of this place. Remember it well. I summoned you here to speak of important matters. It involves your life.” the elderly man named Igor added to Rei.</p>
<p>“What kind of important matters and why does it have to do with my life?” Rei asked Igor but he didn’t answer her question, instead he take a look around the circular prison room they’re in.</p>
<p>“Still, this is quite the surprise……… the state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such, you truly are a “prisoner” of fate. In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you.” said Igor.</p>
<p>“Ruin? What do you mean by that?” said Rei.</p>
<p>"I speak of the end of everything. However, there is a means to oppose such a cruel fate. You must be “rehabilitated”. Rehabilitated toward freedom……… That is your only means to avoid ruin. Do you have the resolve and determination to challenge the distortion of the world?" asked Igor.</p>
<p>“......... If what you say is true and this “Ruin” is coming then I would rather challenge it.” replied Rei.</p>
<p>“Hm, very well then. Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation.” said Igor before the twin girls suddenly turned around to glance at Rei. “Ah, pardon me for not introducing these two to you. To your right is Caroline, to your left, Justine. They served as wardens here.”</p>
<p>“Hmph, try and struggle all you like, Inmate.” scoffed Caroline.</p>
<p>“The duty of wardens is to protect inmates. We are also your collaborators……… That is, if you remain obedient.” explained Justine.</p>
<p>“I shall explain the roles of these two to you at another occasion.” Igor explained to Rei as both Caroline and Justine turned around again. “Now then, it seems the night is waning……… It is almost time. Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually………” finished Igor before he raised and waved his left hand a little, causing an alarm bell to start ringing clearly somewhere on the ceiling above them (while Rei look up with a shock look on her face).</p>
<p>“Time’s up. Now hurry up and go back to sleep, Inmate.” said Caroline as she sneer a little at Rei (who once again try to open the locked cell door and to no avail again before she felt her eyelids started to get heavy and she stagger back, fell back onto the wooden bed and slipped into unconsciousness).</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Rei woke up then sat up from the bed and rubbed her sleepy eyes a little with the back of her hand the next day, she look around and saw that she’s in her room. “<em>………Whatever dream that I dreamt up last night was very strange. Something about “Ruin”……… and “Rehabilitation”. What could it mean………?</em>” thought Rei slightly tiredly and confusingly in her mind before she dismiss the dream from her mind, stood up from the bed, walked out of her room to take a bath until she’s done then she went back into her room and put on her glasses and her new Shujin Academy school uniform. Soon after Rei put on her uniform, she heard her uncle knocking at the door.</p>
<p>“Morning, Rei. Are you up?” Naoya asked Rei before he opened the door and came into the room.</p>
<p>“Yes, I’m up now, uncle.” replied Rei as she turned to glance at him.</p>
<p>“Good. Only for today, I’ll be driving and taking you to Shujin Academy so we could introduce ourselves properly to the staff about the transfer. The school that you’re attending is in the Aoyama district. As such, it’ll cost you a bit to ride the train there, and the route transfer are a hassle. Come on, Rei.” Naoya told and explain to her before he turned around and walked out of the room.</p>
<p>“Yes, uncle.” Rei muttered under her breath as she followed after him.</p>
<p>XXXX</p>
<p>After both Naoya and Rei left the house and had a long drive down the road toward the Aoyama district, they’ve arrived and Naoya parked the car near the side of the road before they got out of the car and walked toward Shujin Academy (a large and up-to-date light grey-coloured elite school building with a large clock on the wall near the front entrance of the building and with the main gate in front of the building as the only way in and out of the building). Before they could stepped into the school, Naoya stopped and turned to glance at Rei.</p>
<p>“Listen to me, Rei. Do me a favor and behave yourself, alright? Try not to cause any more trouble like the trouble you did to yourself before.” said Naoya firmly to Rei (which make her sighed in slight irritation and disappointment).</p>
<p>“Yeah, I know, uncle. You don’t have to say it again.” said Rei.</p>
<p>“Good.” said Naoya as he nodded to her before they went into the empty school and went up the stairs straight toward the Principal’s office.</p>
<p>Soon after both Naoya and Rei found and stepped into the Principal’s office, Rei saw with surprise (and a little disgust) at the large and overweight-looking, slightly tan-skinned, beady brown-eyed and bald-headed man wearing a long sleeve yellow-coloured beige shirt, white undershirt below his beige shirt with a red bow tie around his neck, matching long pants and dark brown shoes on his feet sitting on a chair behind a desk while a slightly fair-skinned, dark brown-eyed woman with unkempt brown hair wearing a long sleeve yellow striped shirt with white and red horizontal lines on it, knee-length blue denim jeans and white heels on her feet stands beside him.</p>
<p>“To reiterate, just so we’re clear, you will immediately be expelled if you cause any problems to the school.” said the principal sternly to Rei (who nodded silently at him while Naoya bend down to sign something on the paper on the desk). “Honestly, I hesitated on accepting someone like you, but there were some circumstances on our side……… You might have done a variety of things in hiding in your hometown, but you’ll behave yourself here. If you’re thrown out from our school, there will be no place for you to go – Keep that in mind.” the principal added to Rei (who gave another nod to him) before he gestured with his head to the woman standing next to him. “This is the teacher in charge of your class.”</p>
<p>“I’m Sadayo Kawakami. Here’s your student ID.” said the woman named Sadayo Kawakami to Rei as she pull a student ID out of her pocket and put it on the table before Rei glance down at the student ID on the table and saw something else under the student ID, which Kawakami-sensei noticed as well before she quickly took back what's under the student ID before Rei shrugged her shoulders and took the student ID from the table. “Be sure to read the school rules. Any violations will sent you straight to the guidance office. And if by chance you cause any problems, I won’t be able to protect you at all.” Kawakami-sensei told and explain to Rei before she fell silent and turned to glance at the principal. “That IS your promise, yes, Principal Kobayakawa?” asked Kawakami-sensei.</p>
<p>“<em>Hmph, a typical reaction of someone who thinks that I’m an inconvenience already.</em>” thought Rei as she started to feel a little annoyed at their words and actions.</p>
<p>“That’s right, Kawakami-sensei. She is responsible for all her actions.” replied the principal named Kobayakawa as he nodded to Kawakami-sensei.</p>
<p>“But really though, why me……? There should’ve been better candidates.” said Kawakami-sensei with a displeased look on her face.</p>
<p>“It was a sudden transfer, and your class was the only one that had an opening.” said principal Kobayakawa.</p>
<p>“Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but do you two mind if we leave now? I’ve got a busy job that I need to get back to.” said Naoya in a slightly exasperated tone of voice to the principal and the teacher, breaking their conversation.</p>
<p>“Oh, of course, Toudou-san. Sorry to take your time.” said principal Kobayakawa in an apologetic and polite tone of voice to Naoya. “I hope that you won’t have much trouble in keeping a close eye on her, family or not.”</p>
<p>“Right, of course.” said Naoya as he nodded to the principal while the teacher let out a sigh and glance at Rei.</p>
<p>“Come to the faculty office when you arrive at school tomorrow. I’ll show you to your classroom.” said Kawakami-sensei to Rei.</p>
<p>“Understood, sensei.” said Rei as she nodded to the teacher before both she and Naoya turned around and left the principal’s office.</p>
<p>After both Naoya and Rei stepped out of the principal’s room and walked down the stairs, they then stopped in their tracks near the shoe lockers at the entrance of the school.</p>
<p>“Seriously, they could at least try to be subtle about mentioning your criminal record in front of you. Looks like your past follows you, even here.” said Naoya as he turned to glance sadly at Rei. “Anyway, you heard what we say and told you, Rei. Try not to cause any more trouble for yourself and for others, alright?”</p>
<p>“………I know, uncle. I’ll try my best.” said Rei as she nodded to Naoya.</p>
<p>“Well then, let’s go, Rei. It’s nearing lunchtime now, so I’ll take and introduce you to a café in Yongen-Jaya that cook and sold one of the best coffee and curry before we head home to drop you off then I’ll head out to do my job.” said Naoya.</p>
<p>“Alright, uncle.” said Rei as she nodded again at Naoya before they walked out of Shujin Academy.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Soon after both Naoya and Rei leave Shujin Academy, Sadayo Kawakami leave the principal’s office, went down the stairs, went out through the door of the school building and walked across the courtyard toward the practice building with a tired and solemn look on her face as she think about the new delinquent female student that the principal had just dumped on her.</p>
<p>“Hey, Kawakami-sensei. I’ve just heard about your troublesome situation.” said a slightly deep male voice from in front of Kawakami, causing her to glance up at her fellow teacher (a tall, slightly tan-skinned, dark brown-eyed, broad-looking man with short black wavy hair and a broad, square jawline while he wore a short sleeve white sport T-shirt, long dark blue trousers with white stripes on it, white shoes on his feet and had a whistle around his neck).</p>
<p>“I can’t believe that principal Kobayakawa would pushed someone with a record on me. A male teacher would be better suited for this………” said Kawakami with a tired frown look on her face.</p>
<p>“Why in the world was someone like that admitted here?” sighed the male teacher as he briefly close his eyes, lowered his head and put his hands on his hips in disapproval.</p>
<p>“Who knows? It was the principal’s decision……… I was told that it’s for the school’s reputation.” said Kawakami.</p>
<p>“And here I thought that my volleyball team has contributed more than enough to cover that.” said the male teacher as he straighten himself and glance at Kawakami.</p>
<p>“That’s certainly true.” said Kawakami in agreement to the male teacher.</p>
<p>“Be careful, OK?” said the male teacher in a concern tone of voice to Kawakami as he raised, moved and stretch his arms a little. “Then again, if anything were to happen, I’d kick out a student like that right away.”</p>
<p>“I guess we’ll see on how she’s like. I kept wishing that she’d just end up not coming to school. Still, that’s not something I should be saying as a teacher………” said Kawakami as she run her hand through her hair and shake her head a little.</p>
<p>“Wait, did you just say she………?” asked the male teacher in a surprise tone of voice to Kawakami.</p>
<p>“Yes, it’s a female student……… What about it?” said Kawakami suspiciously at the male teacher.</p>
<p>“Oh, nothing, Kawakami-sensei. Well, I should be getting back to practice now.” said the male teacher.</p>
<p>“Oh, that’s right. The tournament’s coming up, isn’t it?” said Kawakami.</p>
<p>“Hehe, having such high expectations placed on you by others is quite the problem in itself. We’ll have to work hard to make up for the track team too.” said the male teacher before he chuckled and smiled widely at Kawakami.</p>
<p>“Yes……… that’s true.” said Kawakami as she nodded tiredly to the male teacher (who nodded back to her before he turned and walked down the left courtyard). “Why’d it have to be my class………? Then again, it’s better than her being in Suguru Kamoshida’s class.” Kawakami added to herself before she resumed walking down the courtyard toward the practice building.</p>
<p>XXXX</p>
<p>“As usual, traffic’s not moving at all. Although today’s traffic is even more packed than before.” said Naoya in annoyance as he impatiently tapped the top of the steering wheel with his fingers before he glance at Isamu. “You’ll be taking the train starting tomorrow.” Naoya told Rei.</p>
<p>“Yeah, sure.” said Rei.</p>
<p>“………So what do you think? The school, I mean. Think you can manage?” asked Naoya.</p>
<p>“I think I’ll manage, uncle.” replied Rei.</p>
<p>“You better, Rei. Still, you were expelled once already. To think you’d re-enroll at a different one. It’s not like anyone will be sympathetic with you. So watch yourself and try not to draw unwanted attention to yourself in your new school, either.” Naoya warned Rei and she nodded to him.</p>
<p>“By the way, uncle. Why did you take the trouble to take me in?” asked Rei.</p>
<p>“……… Because no other relatives wanted to take you in due to your record so I agreed to stepped up and took you in instead. Plus, your parents already paid me for it.” replied Naoya.</p>
<p>“<em>Ah, that explains it.</em>” thought Rei dryly in her mind before they dropped the conversation and decided to listen to the news broadcast of a newsman speaking from the radio in the car.</p>
<p>“<em>Again, a subway has derailed from it’s tracks at Shibuya Station, greatly affecting the timetables all across the-</em>”</p>
<p>“……… Another subway accident? So that’s the reason why this traffic is so packed. There’s been a lot of these accidents recently plus one tragic accident of a young female gymnast losing her life a few months ago..........” said Naoya in a slightly worry tone of voice to himself.</p>
<p>“That sounds terrible.” said Rei. “<em>Could it be another one of those “accidents” and a female gymnast died in a tragic accident a few months ago?</em>” added Rei to herself.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I know.” said Naoya as he nodded to Rei.</p>
<p>After another half-hour of Naoya driving on the road among the other cars, both Naoya and Rei arrived in the Yongen-Jaya area (which is quite a small yet safe area that had some shops, clinic, laundromat, supermarket, old cinema building, bathhouse, Café Leblanc, gym building and a single two-storey house) before Naoya turned off the car then they got out and walked down into Yongen-Jaya past the buildings until they reached and went into the Leblanc café that Naoya mentioned to Rei a half-hour ago.</p>
<p>As both Naoya and Rei stepped into the café, Isamu look around and saw that the interior of the place is quite modest and cozy, with a long wooden counter table that had a single pot plant, some thick-looking books, small glass coffee jars and 2 glass apparatus that brewed coffee on the table, some wooden booth chairs in front of the counter table (while dozens of large glass coffee jars standing side by side on the wooden shelves behind the counter table), some tables and long wooden couches on the left side of the café (with some slightly stained multi-coloured lamps hanging on the ceiling above the tables and chairs) and a semi-large flat screen television hanging on a corner of the wall next to the kitchen room before she saw a young, slightly fair-skinned, dark grey-eyed guy with short wavy black hair and wearing a black tank top with a thin white opened sweater over it, long blue jeans and a faded green apron over his clothes cooking and stirring a ladle around a yellow pot while being watched by a middle-aged, brown-eyed man with slicked-back receding black hair, a chinstrap black beard with a goatee that flares out, glasses on his eyes and wearing a light pink dress shirt with the sleeves roll up to his elbows, long white khaki pants and white shoes on his feet and a black apron with white stripes on it.</p>
<p>“Hm? Oh, hello and welcome to Leblanc, Toudou-san.” the middle-aged man greeted Naoya when he and the young guy (which Rei assumed is a part-timer) heard the sound of the small bell ringing above the door and glance at them.</p>
<p>“Hello to you too, Sojiro-san.” Naoya greeted back to the man named Sojiro with a polite smile on his face.</p>
<p>“Yeah, sure. And who’s the girl with you?” asked Sojiro as he glance at Rei.</p>
<p>“This is my niece, Rei Toudou. Who’ll be staying with me this year.” said Naoya as he introduced Rei to Sojiro before he turned to glance at her. “Rei, this man is Sojiro Sakura, the owner of Leblanc cafe.”</p>
<p>“It’s nice to meet you, Sakura-san.” said Rei.</p>
<p>“Right. Nice to meet you too. So what will you two have today?” said Sojiro.</p>
<p>“Today I’ll have beef curry and a cup of black coffee. What about you, Rei?” asked Naoya.</p>
<p>“Well, I guess I’ll have the chicken katsu curry and a cup of mocha latte.” replied Rei.</p>
<p>“Alright, take your seats. Your foods and drinks will be out in a few minutes.” said Sojiro before he turned and told the young guy about their orders while both Naoya and Rei sat down on one of the couches and wait for their foods and drinks. After a few minutes, the young guy brought and put their foods and drinks down on the table in front of them.</p>
<p>“Here’s your orders of beef and chicken katsu curries and 2 cups of black coffee and mocha latte.” said the young guy to both Naoya and Rei (who nodded and thanked him for it). “By the way, are you a Shujin student?” the young guy asked Rei.</p>
<p>“No, not yet. I just enroll and transfer to Shujin Academy today. Why do you ask?” replied Rei as she glance at the young guy with a confused then suspicious look on her face.</p>
<p>“Oh, I see, no wonder. I asked because of the uniform you wear and because I attend Shujin Academy too. Name’s Akira Kurusu, by the way.” said the young guy named Akira Kurusu as he introduced himself to Rei.</p>
<p>“Uh huh, nice to meet you too, Kurusu-kun. My name is Rei Toudou.” said Rei as she introduced herself to Akira as well.</p>
<p>“Hey, stop talking and bothering the customers and do your work, Kurusu!” snapped Sojiro in an annoy tone of voice to Akira.</p>
<p>“Coming, Sojiro-san! I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow, Toudou-san.” said Akira before he turned and quickly went back into the kitchen to resumed cooking the curry and back under the watchful eyes of Sojiro.</p>
<p>After Akira went back into the kitchen, both Naoya and Rei ate and drank their foods and drinks (which make Rei widened her eyes in delight at how good the curry and coffee is and that her uncle was right about it before she told him, which make him gave her a smile and a “I-told-you-so” look on his face). Once they finish and pay for their foods and drinks, they left Leblanc café, got back into the car, drove down the road back to the house before they went into the house, bade goodnight to each other and went into their rooms. Once Rei change out of her uniform and into her pajamas and was about to fell asleep, she felt her phone started vibrating and she pull it out to see and read the message from her friend.</p>
<p>GA: <em>Hello, Rei. How’s your new living place with this distant uncle of yours? Did it work out well for you? </em></p>
<p>RT: <em>He’s more or less tolerable of me and prepare a room for me as I stay in his house. Not only that, he brought me to a new school called Shujin Academy in Aoyama district for my re-enrollment. </em></p>
<p>GA: <em>Shujin Academy, huh? Well, I hope and wish you luck in your new living place with your uncle and your new school, Rei. </em></p>
<p>RT: <em>Thanks. By the way, are you busy in doing a new case? </em></p>
<p>GA: <em>“Chuckle”. You’re quite the perceptive one sometimes, Rei. As a matter of fact, I am doing a new case with a prosecutor named Sae Niijima. </em></p>
<p>RT: <em>Is it the same usual cases of those “mental shutdowns” or “psychotic breakdowns” of peoples? </em></p>
<p>GA: <em>Yeah, it is, Rei. </em></p>
<p>RT: <em>Well then, I wish you luck in solving in. Oh, and before I forgot, my uncle brought and introduced me to a café named “Leblanc” in Yongen-Jaya that cooked and brewed the best curry and coffee. You gotta try it! </em></p>
<p>GA: <em>Really? Then I’ll be sure to stop by this “Leblanc” café and try it’s curry and coffee when I’m free. Thanks for telling me about it, Rei. And good night. </em></p>
<p>RT: <em>You’re welcome and good night to you too. </em></p>
<p>After Rei’s done in texting her friend, she turned off and put her phone back into her pajamas pocket before she sat and lie down on the bed and fell asleep.</p>
<p>XXXX</p>
<p>
  <strong>Meanwhile……… </strong>
</p>
<p>Inside a large, expensive and well-furnished office of the director of SIU company, an elderly, almost bald-headed, grey-eyed man wearing a dark blue business suit, black shoes and glasses on his face as he sat in his black leather chair behind his desk and Sae Niijima (who stands near the front of his desk) watched the latest news report of a subway train accident in Shibuya Station that caused no more than 80 people being gravely injured and killed on the flat-screen TV on the wall in front of them both.</p>
<p>“It’s less of an operating accident and more of a crime of the company and the government.” said the director of SIU in a displeased tone of voice to Sae standing near the desk as they continue to watched the news report. “Site inspectors apparently reported all of this 6 months ago – the deterioration of the tracks and the ATC. Seems the railway company and the Ministry of Transport both turned a blind eye to the truth. There’s no way they can hide. This will go all the way to the top.” the director added to Sae before he fell silent as the news report started to report a series of other accidents that had happened recently in other different places in Tokyo.</p>
<p>“Everything’s linked – that’s what you’re thinking, correct?” the director asked Sae (who didn’t answer his question and is still watching the news report) before he smiled, closed his eyes and lowered his head a little. “……… Ah well. Are you free? You and I haven’t gone for a drink for a while.”</p>
<p>“Thank you, sir. But I have another meeting to attend. I must be going now.” said Sae as she turned to glance and smiled politely to the director before she bowed to him, turned and left his office.</p>
<p>After Sae left the office and walked down the stairs leading down toward the front entrance of the SIU building, she saw a young, slightly fair-skinned, reddish-brown eyed guy with chin-length light brown hair with some bangs covering his forehead and wearing a white dress shirt with a long-sleeve tan peacoat with black buttons on it over the shirt, striped black and white necktie around his neck, black gloves on his hands, long black trousers and black shoes on his legs standing with his back leaning against the railing of the stairs at the foot of the staircase while he holds a white briefcase in his left hand and a dark red smartphone in his right hand.</p>
<p>“Hello, Sae-san. Did you ask for me? Is it about the new case?” the young guy asked Sae as he noticed and turned to greeted her with a smile while he put his phone in his pants pocket.</p>
<p>“Not quite, Goro Akechi. I want your opinion on something.” replied Sae briskly as she walked past him.</p>
<p>“Sure. Your judgement is quite often correct, though. Can we discuss this over sushi, perhaps? You’re making a student work late after all.” said the guy named Goro Akechi as he turned and glance at her.</p>
<p>“Conveyor belt, only.” said Sae without looking back at Goro.</p>
<p>“Awww………” groaned Goro in disappointment before he followed after her out of the SIU building.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rei woke up quite early the next morning as she sat up from the bed, yawned and stretch her arms a little before she got off the bed and left her bedroom to head into the bathroom to cleaned herself up. Once Rei’s done in cleaning herself up, she left the bathroom and head back into her bedroom to put on her school uniform and grabbed her school bag before she walked down the staircase and saw Naoya sitting in the kitchen and reading the newspaper while a plate of omelette rice and a glass of water is on the table in front of him.</p>
<p>“Morning, uncle.” Rei greeted him.</p>
<p>“Morning, Rei. Hurry and eat your breakfast before we leave the house for you to go your school and me leaving for my work.” said Naoya without looking at her.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I know.” said Rei as she sat herself down on the chair and proceed to eat the omelette rice and drink the glass of water that Naoya had prepared for her. “Thanks for the food and drink, uncle.” said Rei politely to Naoya.</p>
<p>“You’re welcome, Rei. Keep it up and maybe your probation might end earlier for you. Come on, let us be off now.” said Naoya as he gave a small smile at Rei before he folded and put the newspaper down on the table, stood up and take the plate and glass and put them into the sink before both he and Rei left the house and he drove straight to Shibuya Station to dropped Rei off before he bade goodbye to her and drove off for his work.</p>
<p>After Rei watched her uncle dropped her near the train station staircase and drove off, she turned and walked down the stairs to the underground subway with many other students, business men and women around her and head into the train that will take her to Aoyama district where her new school is. “<em>Holy geez, there’s just too way too many people crammed inside the train! Guess the rumors about how jam-packed the subways in Tokyo is true after all.</em>” thought Rei to herself as the train swiftly left the station and arrived in the subway station of Aoyama-Itchome.</p>
<p>As Rei stepped out of the train with some of the other students wearing Shujin Academy uniforms, she turned and quickly make her way up the stairs out of the entrance of the subway station with the other students only to stopped and groan a little when she saw that it’s raining outside. “<em>Great. Just great. Of all the day for the sky to start raining, it just had to be today. If only I knew earlier, I would have brought an umbrella with me.</em>” thought Rei to herself with an annoy look on her face before she managed to find shelter in front of a clothes shop near the station and next to a male student (who’s also looking for shelter from the rain). Isamu then pull out her phone to check something and saw that the same creepy-looking icon had reappear and expanded in her phone once again.</p>
<p>“This weird icon again. Why does it keep coming back to my phone?” said Rei as she stared and sighed in disbelief at the icon on her phone.</p>
<p>“Hey, what’s wrong……… Wait a minute, aren’t you Rei Toudou-san, the girl who came with her uncle to Leblanc yesterday and also the new student that’s just transferred to Shujin Academy?” said the male student standing next to Rei.</p>
<p>“Huh, how do you know about………” said Rei suspiciously to the male student as she turned to glance at him and instantly recognized him as the part-timer guy who worked in Leblanc. “It’s you, Akira Kurusu-kun.”</p>
<p>“Glad to see and know that you recognized me, Toudou-san.” said Akira as he gave a small smile to Rei before he glance down at her phone and saw the expanded icon on it. “Woah, what’s with the creepy-looking icon in your phone?” asked Akira.</p>
<p>“I don’t know, Kurusu-kun. It just kept coming back to my phone even though I already deleted it twice.” replied Rei.</p>
<p>“Maybe it likes you?” teased Akira.</p>
<p>“Haha, very funny, Kurusu-kun.” said Rei as she scowled at Akira for his lame joke before she noticed a hooded female student approach and take shelter next to her and Akira (who turned to glance at her as well when he saw Rei looking at her) before the female student pull back her hood to release her hair (which make Rei see that the female student is a fair-skinned, bright teal-eyed pretty girl with thick ash blonde hair tied-up into two bushy pigtails and wearing a white sleeveless varsity-like hooded shirt with a green clover on her hood, some red and blue stripes and a large S alphabet at the bottom of it with her unbuttoned black Shujin blazer over it, long red tights pants with her short skirt over it (mostly covered by her varsity-like shirt) and brown boots with yellow laces on her legs).</p>
<p>The female student look up at the sky for a few seconds before she noticed both Rei and Akira staring at her and she turned to glance and smiled politely at them. Both Rei and Akira smiled back at her before all 3 of them look out at the road and the rain that still haven’t stop.</p>
<p>The next second, a white car suddenly pulled over in front of them before the window rolled down to reveal a wavy black hair, square jaw older man wearing a blue track suit and pants sitting inside the car before he turned to glance and smiled at them.</p>
<p>“Good morning. You want me to give you a ride to school. You’re gonna be late.” The man asked the female student.</p>
<p>“Uh, sure, thank you.” replied the female student as she walked toward and got into the car.</p>
<p>“What about you two? Do you two need a lift too?” the man asked both Rei and Akira as he glance at them after the female student got into the car.</p>
<p>“No, thank you.” said Rei as she and Akira shook their heads in unison to the man, who shrugged his shoulders at them before he started to rolled up the window of his car. But before the window was rolled all the way up, Rei caught a glimpse of a sad and apprehension look on the female student’s face before the car drove off.</p>
<p>“<em>I wonder why that girl look so sad once she got into the car. And who’s the man in the car, could he be a teacher? Well, whatever it is, I better stay out of it.</em>” thought Rei to herself.</p>
<p>“Good thing you’ve the common sense in not getting in his car like her, Toudou-san.” said Akira with a dark look on his face.</p>
<p>“Huh? What do you mean by that, Kurusu-kun?” asked Rei, confused by the dark look on his face.</p>
<p>As Akira was about to answer her question, another male student suddenly ran past them in pursuit of the car before he stopped running when he saw the car drove further away down the road.</p>
<p>“Dammit……… Screw that pervy teacher.” the male student cursed out at the car.</p>
<p>“……… Pervy teacher?” Rei repeated some of the male student words (while unaware that the weird app on her phone started to register those 2 words) before the male student turned around to glance at Akira and Rei (who saw that the male student is a slightly tan-skinned, dark brown-eyed, dyed blonde-haired guy wearing a yellow T-shirt that had a comic style dark pink/black star symbol and the word “ZOMG” on it and with an unbuttoned black blazer over his T-shirt, long plaid school trousers rolled up above his ankle and white sneakers on his legs) when he heard her speak out.</p>
<p>“What do you want? You plannin’ on rattin’ me out to Kamoshida?” said the male student quite rudely and vulgarly at Rei as he approach and scowled at her.</p>
<p>“Easy there.” said Akira calmly to the male student (who ignored him).</p>
<p>“Firstly, I have no idea on who this Kamoshida is. Secondly, that was quite rude and vulgar of you to suddenly speak to me like that.” said Rei as she scowled at the male student.</p>
<p>“Huh?” said the male student with a confused look on his face before he began explaining to Rei. “In that car just now, it was Kamoshida. He does whatever the hell he wants. Who does he think he is – the king of a castle, isn’t that right, Kurusu?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, you’re right.” said Akira as he nodded his head in agreement at the male student words.</p>
<p>“What do you mean by “the king of a castle”?” asked Rei.</p>
<p>“No, we mean………” said the male student before he crossed his arms and observed Rei. “You seriously don’t know Kamoshida? Are you for real? You’re from Shujin, right?” the male student asked her.</p>
<p>“Actually, she a new student named Rei Toudou who just transferred to Shujin today, Ryuji.” Akira explained to the male student named Ryuji before he glance at Rei. “Toudou-san, this is Ryuji Sakamoto, my friend.”</p>
<p>“A new transfer student, huh? No wonder you don’t know about Kamoshida. A second-year like us, huh……… That means we’re the same grade then.” said Ryuji in an understanding tone of voice to Rei before he turned to glance up at the still raining sky. “This rain ain’t too bad. We better hurry up, or we’ll be late.” Ryuji added to both Akira and Rei before they turned and began leaving. But just as they were about to leave, all 3 of them suddenly stopped and raised their hands to their heads when they felt their heads got light-headed all of a sudden.</p>
<p>“Ngh………” said Rei.</p>
<p>“What was that………” said Akira.</p>
<p>“Uuuugh, my head hurts……… Dammit……… I wanna go home………” grumbled Ryuji before he, Akira and Rei lowered their hands from their heads and began walking toward the school.</p>
<p>XXXX</p>
<p>
  <strong>Back in the room……… </strong>
</p>
<p>Rei groaned while massaging her head with her hand a little before she lowered her hand and glance back at Sae.</p>
<p>“……… There was a terrible subway accident that day. You remember it, don’t you? I assume you know of the uproar that the public calls the “psychotic breakdowns incidents”.” asked Sae coolly at Rei.</p>
<p>“……… I might have heard of it, Sae-san.” replied Rei quietly to Sae.</p>
<p>“You say that like it’s none of your business. It was all over the news, and one of the victims included a teacher at your high school. Which I’ve no doubt that you’ve heard about it.” said Sae as she leaned forward a little closer to Rei. “On that day……… were you still an “ordinary” student?” asked Sae.</p>
<p>“What do you mean by that?” replied Rei.</p>
<p>“……… Let me change the question. You transferred to Shujin Academy, correct?” said Sae as she leaned back on her chair.</p>
<p>“……… Yes, that’s right.” said Rei with a weak nod of her head.</p>
<p>“An ordinary prep school that could be found in any city……… That’s what it should have been. So what happened around that time? Tell me everything – truthfully.” Sae asked Rei, who gave another weak nod to Sae as she try to remember back.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As Rei walked and followed behind both Akira and Ryuji, she didn’t noticed that the creepy app on her phone had activated and expanded even more until it completely covered her phone screen as she put her phone back into her pants pocket to prevent it from getting wet before they approach and went into an alleyway (which is filled with puddles from the rain) toward the school.</p>
<p>As Rei stepped on one of the puddles, she heard a splash sound coming from behind her but when she stopped and turned around to look, she didn’t see anything. The next second, the surprise yells of both Akira and Ryuji caused Rei to turned back and as she quickly run out of the alleyway toward where they are, she saw the reason on why they suddenly yell out in surprise. Because in front of them stood a large medieval castle under a cloudy dark pink-coloured sky.</p>
<p>“What the? A castle like the one in the Harry Potter movies instead of a school?” said Rei as she glance at the castle in surprise.</p>
<p>“Not possible, Toudou-san. Could it be that we have……… come the wrong way or something?” said Akira as he, Rei and Ryuji turned to look at the alleyway that they just walked out from before they glance back at the castle.</p>
<p>“I don’t think so, Kurusu, Toudou.” said Ryuji as he glance at the long, metal plaque on the wall to their left with the words “Shujin Academy High School” written on it. “What’s goin’ on here?” asked Ryuji as he, Akira and Rei glance at each other.</p>
<p>“You ask us, we ask who, Sakamoto-kun?” said Rei as she scowled at Ryuji.</p>
<p>“R-Right, sorry about that, Toudou. Looks like we’ll just have to go in and ask.” said Ryuji apologetically to Rei before he told her and Akira about his suggestion and they nodded to him before they head up the wooden drawbridge and into the castle together.</p>
<p>Once Rei, Akira and Ryuji stepped into the castle, they stopped to look around and saw that they’re now standing inside a large light blue, black, red and golden-coloured ballroom with 2 large pillars standing in the middle of the room and a large staircase leading up to the second floor (that had a large portrait of a man wearing a golden armor and holding a sword in his hand above him on the wall) behind the 2 pillars, several candles and torches standing on the floor and hanging on the walls around them and with several chandeliers hanging and swaying slowly on the ceiling above them.</p>
<p>“T-That’s weird……… Where’s the school………?” said Ryuji as he look around while scratching his head in more confusion.</p>
<p>“Is this really the school? Are you sure that we took the right turn?” asked Rei as she glance at Ryuji.</p>
<p>“It should be……… The metal plague outside on the gate did say “Shujin”………” replied Ryuji as he glance at Rei before he take another look at the place around them. “What’s goin’ on here?”</p>
<p>“Why don’t we check our phones, you two?” Akira suggested to both Rei and Ryuji, who glance and nodded in unison to him before they pull their phones out and saw with disbelief and disappointed looks (or in Rei’s case, a worry look when she saw that the creepy app on her phone has completely covered her phone screen) on their faces that their phones are out of service.</p>
<p>“Out of service? Where’d we end up………?” said Ryuji as he (and both Rei and Akira) put their phones back into their pockets. “The sign was for the school, right?” asked Ryuji.</p>
<p>“Yeah, it is.” replied Rei as she and Akira nodded their heads in agreement at Ryuji.</p>
<p>“Right!? You two saw it too!” Ryuji yelled quite loudly to both Rei and Akira before they heard the sound of footsteps approaching them and as they turned to see who is it, they saw that it’s a blue-faced person wearing a knight outfit and holding a sword and a shield in his hands before the knight stopped in front of them.</p>
<p>“A knight?” said Rei.</p>
<p>“Geez, you freaked us out……… Who’re you? You a student?” asked Ryuji as he approach and stopped in front of the knight. “Man, your costume’s impressive……… Is that armor real?”</p>
<p>“Uh, Ryuji………” said Akira to Ryuji, who ignored him.</p>
<p>“C’mon, don’t just stand there. Say somethin’.” said Ryuji to the silent knight before he, Rei and Akira heard the sound of another set of footsteps and they saw another identical knight approaching and stopping next to the first knight. “………H-Hey, what’s goin’ on?” said Ryuji anxiously.</p>
<p>“What do they want, Sakamoto-kun?” said Rei.</p>
<p>“I don’t know, Toudou!” Ryuji snapped at Rei as the two knights walked closer toward Ryuji, who backed away from the knights worriedly. “………This shit’s real. C-Calm down! Time out, man!” said Ryuji worriedly at the 2 knights.</p>
<p>“I think we should run now, Toudou-san, Ryuji!” yelled Akira concernly to both Rei and Ryuji.</p>
<p>“Right! Got it!” said both Rei and Ryuji as they nodded in agreement at Akira before they quickly turned and run toward the entrance. But before they could run out, two more knights approach and prevented them from leaving.</p>
<p>“Ugh, what’s with these guys!?” complained Ryuji as he, Rei and Akira glance anxiously around at the 4 knights surrounding them before two of the knights slammed the shield hard on his and Akira’s back, causing them both to yell out in pain before they fell to the floor while Rei gasped in fear for them both.</p>
<p>“Gah, that hurts!” grunted Akira.</p>
<p>“Owww……… Y-You guys are gonna break our bones, dammit! The hell you guys think you’re- Aagh!” Ryuji yell angrily and painfully at the knights slamming their shields at him and Akira.</p>
<p>“Kurusu-kun! Sakamoto-kun!” said Rei fearfully to them before she felt one of the knights slammed his shield hard at the back of her head, causing her to immediately black out and fell face-down on the floor while the last thing she heard from the knights before she passed out is them saying to take her to a special room while taking both Akira and Ryuji to the dungeons in the basement.</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>A few minutes later, inside an unknown room……… </strong>
</p>
<p>Rei groaned, slowly opened her eyes only to see that she’s sitting on a chair with her arms and legs bound tightly with ropes on the chair’s arms and legs before she raised her head to look up and around and saw with shock then disgust look on her face that she’s inside a completely red-coloured room with dozens of pink flower petals, lit candles and pink-skinned moaning and giggling faceless girls wearing nothing but tight-looking white short sleeve shirts and dark red panties scattering as they lied on the floor and with a large portrait of a shirtless man that Rei recognized as Kamoshida hanging on the wall to her left, the same man that Ryuji told her and Akira earlier before she heard the sound of a door opening, look up and saw with a surprise then disgust look on her face as Kamoshida (who’s wearing nothing but a long white fur and red cape with dozens of pink hearts on it, a small golden crown on his head and dark brown shoes on his feet and yellow eyes instead of black eyes on his face) came into the room, make his way toward Rei and stopped in front of her.</p>
<p>“<em>Ugh, what an ugly and vulgar outfit he’s wearing and doesn’t he have any decency?</em>” thought Rei in more disgust in her mind at Kamoshida and the ugly and vulgar outfit that he’s wearing.</p>
<p>“So you’re one of the intruders that my knights caught earlier, huh? Hold on……… you look kinda familiar, have we met before?” said Kamoshida smugly then confusedly to Rei, who stay silent and refused to say anything to him, which annoy him before he raised his right hand to slapped her face hard.</p>
<p>“Ow! You………” said Rei as she glared at Kamoshida only for him to slapped her again.</p>
<p>“When I ask you a question, I expect you to answer me without hesitation and the look in your eyes and on your face irritates me a lot.” said Kamoshida coldly and smugly to Rei before one of the blue-faced knights that Rei saw earlier with Akira and Ryuji before they knocked them out entered the room, approach and stopped near Kamoshida. “Yes? What is it?” said Kamoshida rudely and slightly impatiently to the knight.</p>
<p>“My liege, what about and what do you intend to do with the other 2 intruders that we put in the dungeons?” said the blue-faced knight to Kamoshida.</p>
<p>“Them, huh? I guess I’ll leave and deal with them now.” said Kamoshida as he glance at the blue-faced knight before he glance back at Rei. “I’ll be going to the dungeons now to take care of the other 2 unwelcome intruders that came into my castle so, stay here like a good girl and I’ll be back soon.” added Kamoshida before he and the blue-faced knight turned and left the room.</p>
<p>“<em>When he said that he’s leaving to deal with the other 2 unwelcome intruders, does he mean Kurusu-kun and Sakamoto-kun? NO! I can’t just sit here and do nothing! I need to help them somehow!</em>” thought Rei as she struggled futilely against the ropes on her arms and legs only to stop struggling when she heard a soft and mysterious voice of an unknown girl and saw an almost transparent, sparkling blue butterfly appear and flew past her.</p>
<p>“<em>This is truly an unjust game……… Your chances of winning and helping your friends are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you………</em>” the mysterious voice of the girl told Rei before the butterfly vanished and she heard another different feminine yet refined voice of a woman spoke to her.</p>
<p>“<em>What’s the matter………? Are you simply going to just sit there like a helpless bound girl as that vile man went to the dungeons to take care of the other two boys? Although, why and what reason would you want to free yourself to help two boys that you just met and barely knew about, girl?</em>” said the woman’s voice coldly at Rei (who look around the room for the source of the voice and can’t see her anywhere). “<em>Are you just going to let him do as he pleases? Death awaits them and you if you do nothing. Do you regret your previous decision back then?</em>” the woman’s voice asked her.</p>
<p>The question of the woman’s voice make her remember back the time when she try to helped the woman from the drunken man only to end up being labeled a false criminal by him before she shook the memory away. “Of course I don’t regret it and I’d do it again, no matter if they’re people I knew or strangers that I just met!” snapped Rei angrily at the woman’s voice.</p>
<p>“<em>Excellent and very well……… I have heeded your rebellious resolve.</em>” replied the woman’s voice quite proudly and smugly to Rei before an indescribable pain wracked her head and body and causing her to lowered her head and scream out in pain and agony while tears glisten and fell from her eyes (which caused 3 blue-faced knights to come running into the room to check for intruders only to see her writhing and screaming in pain with confused looks on their faces). “<em>Vow to me now. I am thou, thou art I……… Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Call upon my name, and release thy rage! Show me the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!</em>” the woman’s voice finish spoke to Rei as she lowered her head while panting and feeling the pain slowly fade away from her head and body before she felt a sudden surge of power rose up from within her before a strong gust of wind blew out of her and severing the ropes on her arms and legs, causing the 3 knights to stagger back from her before the gust of wind died down and the 3 knights to glance warily at her.</p>
<p>After the sudden gust of wind died down, Rei slowly raised her head and realised that a mask had suddenly formed and appear on her face. As she raised her hands to briefly touch the mask on her face, she then try to pull it off her face but for some reason it wouldn’t come off easily. Rei then tighten her grip on the mask, forcefully ripped the mask off of her face which caused blood to run down her face as she let out another scream of pain, briefly glance down then raised her head to glance up and smirked at the 3 knights (who stagger back at in nervousness and fear a little at the smirk on her face and the wicked look in her eyes, which is yellow in colour now).</p>
<p>The next second, the 3 knights watched with shock looks on their faces as dark blue flames suddenly appear and completely covered Rei’s entire body and heard a wicked chuckle of a woman before bright orange flames appear and burned within the blue flames and formed into a slitted eyes and wide, wicked smile before the flames rose up away from Rei (whose outfit had now change from her Shujin school uniform to a different dark green, black and white-coloured sleeveless dress combined with a cape on the lower back half of her body and a belt tied around her waist with a sheathed rapier strapped on it, grey fingerless elbow-length gloves on her arms, thigh-high dark green and black stockings and knee-length grey boots on her legs) and formed into a tall and large almost slender figure of a woman before the flames slowly fade away to reveal the looks of the woman standing behind Rei, which is a dark-skinned, long waist-length elegant braided brown haired woman with a pristine white mask that had flaming orange slitted eyes and wide, wicked smile on it on the mask while the woman wears an elegant-looking short sleeve black and dark purple Russian dress with dozens of white rose designs on it, a matching purple hat with two white feathers sticking out on the hat, long golden gloves on her arms, dark blue wings behind her back while black chains rattled and swirl around her body and small remnants of the blue flames lingers on her dress.</p>
<p>“<em>Woah, this feeling of power coursing inside me feels great!</em>” thought Rei smugly in her mind as she smile quite widely in satisfaction at the feeling of power coursing within her before she raised and spread her arms out in a dramatic manner, which caused the woman standing behind her to unfurl and spread her wings out to unleash another strong gust of wind, causing the 3 knights to be blown away and crash hard against the walls of the room, making them groaned and winced in pain from it.</p>
<p>“<em>I am the Princess of Crime – “Sonya”!</em>” said the woman named Sonya standing behind Rei as she unfurl and spread the wings behind her back once more.</p>
<p>“So your name is Sonya, huh?” said Rei as she raised her head to glance calmly up at Sonya.</p>
<p>“<em>That’s right and I am the rebel’s soul that resides within you. If you so desire, I shall consider granting you my power to break through this unjust crisis.</em>” explained Sonya.</p>
<p>“Is that so? Then I’ll take you up on your offer, Sonya. Lend me your strength!” said Rei confidently to Sonya.</p>
<p>“<em>Hmph, very well then, my dear mistress.</em>” said Sonya as she glance down and smirked at Rei.</p>
<p>“You impertinent wench! You’ll pay for what you and the other woman behind you just did to us!” snarled one of the knights angrily at Rei before he and the other 2 knights stood back up, glared at Rei and the woman behind her before they shake and burst apart in a shower of red and black liquid before the liquid disappear to reveal 2 green-skinned, long green-haired women wearing simple long sleeve orange dress and a purple-skinned, yellowish green-eyed, two-legged cat wearing a red hat with a single black feather on it’s head, a belt around it’s waist, brown boots on it’s feet and holding a sword in it’s left hand.</p>
<p>“Really? Bring it on then, you wannabe knights!” said Rei mockingly to the 2 green-skinned women and two-legged cat, which angered them before they got into their fighting stances.</p>
<p>“<em>Detest the enemies before you, my mistress! Change that feeling of animosity into power……… and unleash it on them!</em>” said Sonya loudly from behind Rei before she felt a surge of power rose up and gather into her mask until she can’t bear it anymore and she yell out the first word that came into her mind.</p>
<p>“Aqua!” Rei yelled the word out before a geyser of water shot out from the ground underneath one of the green-skinned woman and stabbed through it’s body, causing it to cry out in pain before it burst apart in a shower of black mists. When the other green-skinned woman saw that Rei had killed off one of their fellows, they immediately charge forward and swung their weapons at her but she managed to jumped and dodged away from their strikes.</p>
<p>“<em>Now swing your weapon!</em>” Sonya instructed Rei, who nodded before she take her rapier weapon out of it's sheath, glance down and saw that it’s an exact copy of the rapier owned and used by a female main character in SAO anime. Rei smirked and clench the rapier firmly in her hands before she charge toward the second green-skinned woman, used the rapier to swung and slashed down on her and killed it off. “<em>Very good, my mistress. This power of mine is yours! Kill them however you want. Run wild to your heart’s content!</em>” said Sonya in an encouraging tone of voice to Rei before she casts out a series of geyser of waters to vanquish the purple-skinned, two-legged cat. After Rei defeat all of them, Sonya fade away into thin air while the rapier weapon Rei holds in her hands went back into the sheath on her belt before Rei quickly left the room to search for both Akira and Ryuji.</p>
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